Russia a step away from decriminalising family violence

Russian MPs have backed a controversial bill reducing the punishment for some forms of domestic violence in a crucial second reading, despite protests from rights activists.

The amendments reduce the penalty for violence against family members - including spouses and children - as long as it is a first offence and does not cause serious injury, making it punishable by a fine of up to 30,000 rubles ($AU665).

Currently violence against a family member that does not cause serious physical injury is defined as battery, punishable by up to two years in jail.

Amnesty International last week appealed to Russia's parliament not to pass the bill, condemning it as a "sickening attempt to trivialize domestic violence".

Moscow city authorities this week refused permission for a rally organised by opponents of the bill with the slogan "Stop violence in the family, monsters should go to jail".

After passing, the bill now only needs to get through a third technical reading expected Friday before it goes before the upper house and then to President Vladimir Putin for a final signature.

The bill's authors say the new measure removes a legal anomaly and will reduce domestic violence by giving first-time abusers a chance to reform.

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Conservative backers of the bill have nicknamed this the "law on slaps," complaining domestic violence is overly harshly punished.

Russian parliament (AAP) ()

"If you slap your naughty child, you risk up to two years in jail. If your neighbour does the same, it would end with a fine," one of the bill's authors, Senator Yelena Mizulina, wrote on her site.

She complained the current law allows a criminal case to be opened on evidence from "a child in a huff against their parents."

But lawyer Maxim Krupsky told RBK news site that "decriminalisation could untie the hands of people who potentially could commit domestic violence".

Parliament threw out Communist Party proposals to exclude attacks on pregnant women and children from decriminalisation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave the bill apparent backing, telling journalists that "blowing out of proportion and calling for (criminal) responsibility for various manifestations of family relations would hardly be effective."

In Russia's still deeply patriarchal society, there is little public discussion of domestic violence and a popular saying goes: "If he beats you, it means he loves you".

A poll by state agency VTsIOM in January found 19 percent of Russians thought violence against partners or children could be acceptable in some circumstances.

According to the state statistics agency, in 2015 there were 49,579 crimes involving violence in the family, of those 35,899 involving violence against a woman.